I sat with a patient today who first noticed a change in October. It’s April now. In all those months of appointments and follow-ups, her breast had only truly been looked at twice. That stayed with me.
If something has changed with your body — especially something under your clothes — please don’t just describe it. Show your team. Point to it. Say, do you see this?
Your care team should be asking to look. But if they aren’t, advocate for yourself. What I see with my eyes tells a story that no words ever could. You deserve that level of attention. Don’t let anyone just hear your words without truly seeing you.
04/15/2026
No one really teaches you how to understand your body until something goes wrong.
I lived with endometriosis for years. And by the time I had answers, I had already lost my ability to have children. Looking back, I wish I had understood earlier that fertility is a marker of overall health, not just something you think about when you want kids.
We talk so much now about menopause and perimenopause. But this is the kind of understanding we should have much earlier.
My friend wrote the book I wish I had in my twenties.
I’m reading it now. And sharing it because I don’t want you to miss what I didn’t know.
04/14/2026
Insurance companies are suing to avoid giving patients access to care.
Three years ago, I testified in Texas to address a problem I was seeing every single day in my practice. Patients had insurance, but they still could not access the care they needed.
Health plans were being sold with networks that did not actually include enough doctors. More than 90% of plans were not even meeting basic network standards.
So we passed a law to fix it. The goal was simple. Real networks. Real access. Real accountability.
And when it came time to enforce it, insurance companies sued to stop it.
So when you are told you are not a candidate, that there are no options, or that you have to wait, it is not always about your care. It is often about whether your plan actually gives you access in the first place.
This is not a one-off experience. It is part of a much bigger pattern.
We already know what needs to change. The question is whether we are willing to actually enforce it.
04/13/2026
The response to the New York Times interview has meant so much to me. Thank you for taking the time to listen, comment and DM me.
I have a challenge for you: Please go back and listen to what Dr. Brennan said. Really listen.
Two things jumped out at me:
1. How many times he used the phrase “unnecessary care”
2. How often he talked about policing patients
That is not what patients need. That is not what America needs.
What stood out to you?
To watch the full video, click here 👇
04/10/2026
This is the disconnect.
Insurance companies talk about populations. Physicians are responsible for the patient in front of them.
But when I am taking care of one patient, I am also thinking about every other patient who will face the same barriers, the same delays, and the same denials.
This is not just about one person. It is about a pattern that keeps repeating.
And I am speaking for the many physicians who have reached out and want their experiences to be heard.
This was part of my interview with , in conversation with Dr. Troyen Brennan, former chief medical officer at CVS Health, which owns Aetna insurance.
If you want to watch the full interview, it’s here:
04/09/2026
I don’t want to work in a system that requires heroic effort to get to the appropriate outcome.
This interview with made something very clear.
Dr. Troyen Brennan, a former chief medical officer at CVS Health, which owns Aetna insurance, shared that denials can be appealed and often overturned. And technically, that is true.
But what happens in real life is different.
Many denials are never appealed. People are exhausted, they are sick, and they do not have the time or support to keep fighting.
So the care does not get overturned. It simply does not happen.
Applying resistance to both the patient and the physician often leads to that outcome, not because the care is inappropriate, but because the process becomes too difficult to sustain.
We should be building a system where doing the right thing for the patient is the easiest path, not the hardest one.
If you have ever been told no by your insurance, this is part of why.
This interview just came out in and I want you to listen in.
I traveled to New York to sit down with an insurance executive for their new show Divided, and this conversation was the result.
You have heard me speak briefly about these issues before, but this is different. This is a full conversation, and I hope you will take the time to listen. There is so much I want to share with you.
No matter where you are in healthcare, this matters. It matters if you are a patient. It matters if you are a provider. It matters if you work inside an insurance company.
If there was a part of me walking into this conversation feeling tired and wondering if we are ever going to change healthcare or move things in a better direction, that part of me shifted.
Dr. Troyen Brennan, is a former chief medical officer at CVS Health, which owns Aetna insurance. On paper, we are at odds. But we chose honest, thoughtful, civil conversation.
I am proud of what we accomplished in that room, and I would value hearing what you think after you watch it.
Thank you and for having me. Thank you Dr. Troyen Brennan for having this conversation.
04/06/2026
Sometimes I have to remind myself of this.
The frustration I feel with healthcare is real.
When I see patients told they don’t need a surgery that could help them.
When I know that sometimes the real reason is reimbursement.
That feeling is not random.
It’s a signal.
A signal that something in the system is broken and needs to be changed.
Because if a doctor feels like they’re not being paid enough, the answer is not to lower the quality of care.
The answer is to fix the system so patients can still receive the care they need.
Anything else shifts the burden onto the patient.
And that is not where it belongs.
04/03/2026
The number one thing you can do to make healthcare safer is simple.
Make it easy for someone to stop the process.
In many other industries, if something looks wrong, anyone can pull the cord and everything pauses until it’s fixed.
That’s how problems get caught early.
That’s how people stay safe.
We need that same culture in healthcare.
Doctors, nurses, anyone in the room should be able to say: Stop. Look at this.
Without fear of retaliation.
Because the people closest to the patient are the ones seeing what’s actually happening in real time.
And when we silence that, we create risk.
We don’t need more quiet conversations behind closed doors.
We need systems that allow people to speak up in the moment.
That’s how you fix problems.
That’s how you protect patients.
04/02/2026
I have seen this same story over and over again this week.
Women with Medicare and TRICARE being told they are not candidates for DIEP flap reconstruction.
And it’s not true.
They are candidates.
But the reimbursement is so low that some surgeons don’t want to do the surgery or can’t afford to.
That is a system problem.
But telling a patient they are not a candidate when they are is not the answer.
If you’re a patient with Medicare or TRICARE, you need to ask directly: Is reimbursement affecting your recommendation?
You deserve the truth about your body and your options.
And if the system is broken, then we fix the system.
We don’t pass that cost onto patients.
04/01/2026
Another peer-to-peer call.
The reviewer was kind. Really kind.
But, respectfully, not my peer.
He listened as I explained why my patient needs lymphovenous bypass surgery. It’s a surgery that can treat the painful swelling in her arm caused by breast cancer treatment and prevent it from getting worse.
She has done everything right. Compression. Therapy. Expensive garments. She’s changed her life to spend an hour a day with every resource she can afford. It’s affecting her ability to work as a nurse.
And she is getting worse.
This is the window where we can fix it. Early enough that surgery can actually change the course.
We can do this surgery outpatient. Two hours. CMS even has a code for it.
The man on the phone agreed it would help her… But he couldn’t approve it… Because he’s not a plastic surgeon and doesn’t have the specific knowledge necessary to make this recommendation.
He gave me the help he felt he could. He told me to appeal and told me not to expedite it, because that wouldn’t work in my favor.
Every human involved in this case knows what we should do. But the system is inhumane.
Address
6818 Austin Center Boulevard Suite 204 Austin, TX 78731
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Dr. Elisabeth Potter, MD posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
With expertise and compassion, Dr. Elisabeth Potter guides her patients to embrace self beauty and strength.
Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, Dr. Elisabeth Potter holds a bachelor’s degree in molecular biology from Princeton University and a medical degree from the Emory University School of Medicine.
Building upon her expertise, Dr. Potter completed a Plastic Surgery Integrated Residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and a Microsurgery Fellowship at MD Anderson, one of the world’s most respected centers dedicated to cancer patient care, research, education and prevention.
Specializing in natural breast reconstruction, Dr. Potter has performed over 900 DIEP flap surgeries using patients’ natural fat and tissue. A former regulatory analyst of FDA law, Dr. Potter possesses a uniquely informed view regarding the safety and efficacy of breast implants. Tailoring treatment options to each individual, Dr. Potter and her team always put patients first. From educating women on their breast reconstructive and cosmetic surgery options to helping them achieve their very best results, Dr. Potter is committed to her patients and her role in their journey.
To help patients look and feel their personal best, Dr. Potter also offers body cosmetic surgery, including liposuction, abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), and arm, thigh and body lifts. Among her dedicated staff of healthcare professionals includes Licensed Medical Aesthetician, Injection Specialist and Laser Therapist Alissa Saenz and Cosmetic Nurse Injector Ashley Sartin. Adding to her practice’s comprehensive care services, Dr. Potter and her team offer aesthetic treatments ranging from HydraFacials, microneedling, chemical peels and laser treatments to injectables and dermal fillers.
From consultation to implementation, Dr. Potter and her team provide excellent patient care every step of the way. Here’s what some of Dr. Potter’s patients have to say:
“When I became very nervous about the increasing coronavirus spread in Austin, Dr. Potter and her co-surgeon Dr. Sprunt jumped through all the hoops (including a change of hospitals) to move my cancer surgery up a week so that I could have the procedure and be out of the hospital quickly to recover and "shelter in place" at home. My recovery has been almost painless as well as anxiety- and trouble-free, and Whitney and Sarah and Heidi and all of Dr. Potter's staff have been there for me whenever I had questions or concerns. I feel very lucky that I will have Dr. Potter and her staff there for me throughout the reconstruction process. Thank you all!”
-Chrissi M.
“Dr. Potter is fabulously gifted and a warm human being. I went to her after my initial reconstruction was botched. I was so afraid I would have to go through life with one breast smaller and deformed. Dr. Potter took all the time I needed to understand what needed to happen and what she was going to do. 10 weeks later I could not be happier. Not only do my breasts match but I have a beautiful belly.”
-Julia B.
“She is incredibly caring and nurturing. She's a fierce patient advocate and will go above and beyond to care for her patients. She's friendly and funny and kind and most importantly very honest. She's not the kind of surgeon to "cut" and run. She only offers options that are in the best interest of her patients. I trust her implicitly. You won't be able to find another plastic surgeon in Austin that is more skilled and more caring than Dr. Elisabeth Potter. Guaranteed.”
